Sand pump



March 18, 1941.

F. H. OHLAND 51mm PUMP Filed Feb. 19, 1958 i m [HF/v V00 m 7% 1 u MW W W3M Patented Mar. 18, 1941 g UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to pumping devices and more particularly to pumpswhichcan be used for removing sand from the bottoms of wells.

oftentimes when a well is dug to secure water.

5 for drinking purposes and for similar uses, it is found that there isa considerable quantity of very line sand and other fine mineralsubstances which are carried up with the water as it is being pumped,thereby making the water unsatisfactory for use, particularly when thewater is desired for human consumption and for other household purposes,Not only does the sand render the water unsatisfactory for use, but ithas decidedly injurious eiTects on the usual type of pump used to drawthe water from the well. It is, therefore, desirable to be able toremove a considerable quantity of sand from the bottom of the well andreplace it with gravel so that substantially clear water can beobtained.

It is, therefore, a general object of my invention to provide a pumpwhich is particularly adaptable for use in withdrawing quantities ofsand from wells without injury to the pump used for that purpose.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pump which can beinitially used to withdraw sand from the well and which can be continuedfor use as an eflicient water pump.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pump structure which,in combination with a well casing and screen, will permit the deposit ofquantities of gravel in the bottom of the well around the screen.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fullyappear in the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters refer to thesame or similar parts throughout the views, and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a portion of a well casing and thepump portion per se;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the lower part of the pump showinga downward extension carrying a surge block with a screen secured to thewell casing:

' Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing the lower part of the pump with agravel depth indicator and a screen independent of the pump and casing;and

Fig. 4 shows a modification in which the screen 50 and surge block aresecured directly to the bot tom of the pump cylinder.

In Fig. 1 there is shown a well casing 5 which may be of anyconventional type well known in the art. Within the casing is inserted apump 55 cylinder comprising an upper slightly enlarged Gil main cylinderportion 6 to the lower end of which is secured a slightly reducedcylindrical extension I. The lower end of the extension I is providedwith an apertured end 8 which is normally closed by a ball valve 9. Theupper end of the main cylinder portion 6 is provided with a cap II)which is centrally apertured to slidably receive a hollow pump shaft orrod l I which extends upwardly to the top of the Well and which may bebent over to provide a spout l2, Inter- 10 posed in the hollow rod II isa valve housing It which contains a conventional ball valve I4.

On the lower end of the hollow rod II is secured a two-piece plungerelement indicated as an entirety at I5, this plunger element carrying 15a customary cup-shaped leather or other packing element it. Connected toand extending downwardly from the plunger element I5 is a pipe H whichconstitutes an extension of the hollow pump rod II below the plungerpacking H5. The 2 lower end of the extension I! is provided with aninwardly tapered sleeve I8 which constitutes an inlet for the hollowpump rod structure.

The upper end portion I0 of the main pump cylinder 6 has resting thereonthe lower end of a helical spring I9, and the upper end of said springis adapted to bear against the lower portion of the upper check valvehousing I3, Thus the pump cylinder is normally urged downwardly underthe influence of the spring so that when the hollow pump rod I I israised the pump cylinder will remain relatively stationary. Thus whenthe pump rod and plunger are reciprocated in the well casing and pumpcylinder, water will flow into the cylinder past the check valve 9 onthe Sr upward stroke of the plunger, and on its downward stroke theplunger will force water upwardly through the pump rod inlet l3 throughthe upper check valve M and out of the top of the pump rod. It will bereadily seen that when sand flows into the lower end of the cylinderwith the water being pumped, the sand being heavier will remain in thelower portion of the pump cylinder and-will be pumped up the pump rodextension I1 and hollow rod II without coming into contact with the pumpleather IE on the plunger I5. This eliminates the wear on the leather towhich it is ordinarily subjected in ordinary type of pumps wherein thewater and sand come into contact with the pump leather and r causeexcessive wear between the leather and the wall of the pump cylinder.This is an important "feature of the invention and it has been foundthat the normal life of a pump leather is multiplied greatly.

In Fig. 2 there is shown the lower part of the with for a shortdistance.

well casing 5, the lower portion of the pump cylinder 1, the lower checkvalve 9, and the hollow pump rod extension IT. This structure is similarto that described in detail in Fig. 1. In this View, however, there isshown a screen element 24 which may or may not have a point 25 and whichis set in and below the inner lower portion of the well casing 5, Thereare several ways of inserting and securing screens of this type, and inthe one illustrated the screen has a lead or other soft metal top 26which is spread outwardly against the inner wall of the casing 5 tofirmly seal it in said casing after the screen has been lowered to thebottom of the well. Extending downwardly from the bottom of the pumpcylinder 1 is a pipe 2'! which is adapted to terminate within thecylindrical screen 24. Mounted upon the pipe 21 is a collar 28 securedas by a set screw 29 and having a radial flange 36. Against the flangeare placed leathers or other packing elements 3| which are secured inplace by a threaded collar 32. The structure in Fig. 2 is not showntruly in its operative position. Under its normal working circumstancesthe leathers 3i and the pump cylinder 1 will be positioned further downin the well casing 5 so that the leathers 3! will rest upon the upperend of the screen 24. This gives the pump cylinder suflicient support tohold it against further downward movement as the hollow pump rod ispushed downwardly in its pumping stroke.

The leathers 3| and their supporting elements I designate as a surgeblock, and, as shown in Fig. 1, when the plunger assembly I 5 comes intocontact with the upper end In of the main pump cylinder 6 on the upwardstroke of the hollow pump rod H, the cylinder will be lifted slightlyand the surge block will be moved upwardly there- The pumping action ofthe surge block causes added suction through the screen 24 so thatadditional sand adjacent the screen is drawn in with the water to loosenthe sand and permit it to be more readily pumped. The reciprocalmovement of the surge block with its leathers 3| and th pump cylinderoccurs only when the pump plunger l5 comes in contact with the upper endof the pump cylinder near the top of the stroke of the pump rod. Thusthe pump cylinder is stationary during most of the upward and downwardmovement of said pump rod.

In Fig. 3 there is shown the lower portion of a well casing 33, aportion of the pump cylinder 34, the lower extension of the hollow pumprod 35 and a lower check valve 36. The a-pertured lower end 31, whichcloses the pump cylinder 34 except for the water passage provided tocooperate with the ball check valve 36, carries a plurality of radiallyextending vanes 38 which are preferably few in number so they will berather Widely spaced. The vanes 38 extend outwardly into slidingengagement with the inner wall of the well casing 33, and keep the pumpcylinder which is considerably smaller than the casing in properalignment with the casing to provide a relatively uniform space betweenthe cylinder and the casing. The screen 39 is adapted to be partiallysunk in the ground at the bottom of the Well to maintain it in anupright position, said screen being disconnected from any other part ofthe pump or from the well casing. As shown, however, the upper end ofthe screen 40 is open to readily permit the insertion of a pipeextension 4|, the latter being threadedly secured to the end plug 31 onthe bottom of the pump cylinder 34. The screen is also provided with aplurality of radial lugs 40a which hold the screen in proper alignmentin the well casing to permit the introduction of gravel between thecasing and screen. After a considerable amount of sand has been pumped,a quantity of gravel may be dumped into the upper end of the well casingand this gravel will fall down between the pump cylinder 34 and thecasing 33 and exteriorly of the screen 39 in the space provided afterpumping out a quantity of sand. It is desired that gravel be introduceduntil itreaches a level approximately the same as the pipe of the upperend of the screen 39. This height can be determined by turning orpartially rotating the pump cylinder 34. When gravel has reached theheight of the vanes 38, it will oifer resistance to rotation of movementof said vanes and the operator will know that he has introduced asufficient amount of gravel.

In order to permit rotation of the pump cylinder 34 there is provided akey-way 42 (see Fig. 1) which is formed in the end cap I ll at the upperend of the main pump cylinder 6. The hollow pump shaft H is providedwith a cooperalting key 43 which rides in the key-way 42, and as aresult when the hollow shaft is turned the pump cylinder and vanes 38will be likewise turned.

In Fig. 4 I have shown an arrangement which may be utilized when noscreen is left in the bottom of the well after the sand-cleaningoperation. In that figure there is shown a casing 44, pump cylinder 45,pump rod extension 48, and ball check valve 41. An apertured end plug 48cooperates with the valve 41 to form a complete valve structure. theplug 48 is threaded the upper end of a screen 49 and said threaded upperend carries a flanged collar 50, which is adapted to clamp the leathersof a surge block 5| against the under side of the pump cylinder and plug58. With this arrangement there can be produced the same agitation orsurging of water and sand to facilitate pumping of the sand as can beaccomplished with the surge :block arrangement shown in Fig. 2. In thestructure in Fig. 4, however, when the sand pump is removed from thewell the screen 49 will be removed with it.

It should be understood that in any of the arrangements disclosed hereinthe pump may be r used merely as a. water pump after sand has beenpumped from the well pocket. It would, of course, be more desirable,however, if the surge blocks shown in Figs. 2 and 4 and the lowerextension pipes 21 and 4| in Figs. 2 and 3 are removed to prevent thepump from tending to continue to pump any small quantities of sand whichmight remain in the interstices of the gravel. However, this would notaffect the water pumping ability of the device. It is further understoodthat my pump can be so arranged at the upper end of the well that it canbe used as a hand pump or it may be connected to some suitable powerpumping mechanism.

It is further understood that various changes may be made in the form,details, arrangements and proportions of the various parts withoutdepanting from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A sand pump and the like comprising a screen, a pump cylinderassociated with said screen, a plunger adapted to reciprocate withinsaid cylinder, means for producing movement of said cylinder with saidplunger during part of the stroke of said plunger, and means for caus-Into the lower end of ing a surge of liquid adjacent said screen duringthe movement of said cylinder with said plunger.

2. A sand pump and the like comprising a well casing, a screen securedto the lower end of said casing, a pump cylinder within said casing andassociated with said screen, a plunger adapted to reciprocate withinsaid cylinder, means for causing movement of said cylinder with saidplunger during part of the stroke of said plunger, and means for causinga surge of liquid adjacent said screen during movement of said cylinderwith said plunger.

3. In a sand pump, the combination with a Well casing, of a cylinderwithin said casing, a pump plunger within said cylinder, a screensecured to said cylinder and communicating with the interior thereof,and a surge block associated With said cylinder and screen and worltingin said casing.

4. A sand pump and the like comprising a cylinder, a plunger adapted toreciprocate Within said cylinder, means for producing movement of saidcylinder with said plunger during part of the stroke of said plunger,and a surge block connected to and movable with said cylinder duringmovement thereof with said plunger.

5. A sand pump and the like comprising, a cylinder adapted to besupported vertically in a well, said cylinder having an inlet and anoutlet, check valves associated with said inlet and outlet, saidcylinder having a larger inside diameter in its upper portion than inits lower pontion, a hollow pump rod extending into said cylinder fromthe upper end thereof and adapted to reciprocate relative to thecylinder, packing means on said pump rod and in sliding engagement withthe relatively larger diameter of the upper cylinder portion, saidhollow pump rod extending below said packing means and into therelatively smaller lower portion of said cylinder, the range ofreciprocation of said pump rod packing with the rod being limited to therelatively larger upper cylinder portion and the range of reciprocationof the downwardly extending portion of said pump rod at its lower endbeing limited to the relatively smaller portion of said cylinder.

FRED H. OHLAND.

